Former CFL player disarms woman with gun amid Florida high school brawl

A former CFL player turned Florida high school teacher is being recognized for disarming a woman with a gun during a fight inside a Florida high school,

Lin-J Shell, 36, won the Grey Cup with the Calgary Stampeders in 2014, and has also played with the B.C. Lions, the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and the Toronto Argonauts. After playing his final season in 2015, Shell moved back to his native Florida to pursue a career in education, and now works as a phys-ed teacher at Jacksonville’s Jean Ribault High School.

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Local media state that a fight broke out between students at the high school last Wednesday, during which time trespassers entered school property to join the fight. Sharon Kelly, 43, entered the premises and was spotted shortly after with a gun in her hand.

According to First Coast News, Shell didn’t recognize Kelly when he first noticed her on campus.

“She got out of the car, she was irate, basically saying she wasn’t going to let anyone jump on her family,” Shell told First Coast. The fight reportedly began after a woman, later identified as Kelly, arrived at the gym with four men.

In an Instagram video captured by a student, Shell can be seen trying to break up the fight. Shell told First Coast News that once he noticed the firearm in her hand, he “grabbed her hand, put her hand down and near her elbow and walked her back out, kept her hand down and pushed her back out the door, just basically told her please don’t shoot our kids.”

The high school later sent out a note to parents, informing them of the incident and confirming that a firearm was confiscated from a trespasser during the brawl.

“As staff worked to separate the students, a group of trespassers joined the altercation. Duval County School Police and administrators were able to intervene and immediately detain all participants. While the individuals were in custody and being searched, school police confiscated a firearm from one of the trespassers. Law enforcement is continuing to investigate and criminal charges as well as school discipline are pending. We greatly appreciate the swift action of Duval County School Police and staff as they were able to immediately intervene, stop the fight, detain the individuals and confiscate the firearm on the trespasser. Please note that all students and staff are safe,” the statement read, reports News 4 Jax.

The Duval County Public School district issued the following statement after the incident:

“Violence on our campuses is unacceptable. We are incredibly thankful that students and staff remained safe and Duval County School Police and staff were able to intervene, stop the fight, detain the individuals and confiscate a firearm from one of the trespassers. As a result of this incident, one individual was arrested. Please know that we take all threats to the security of our campuses seriously, and there will be an increased security presence at the school on Thursday. Additionally, the school is working with district operations and security teams to conduct a safety review of the campus and determine if any further action needs to be taken.”

The CFL also took to Twitter to congratulate Shell on his heroism during a traumatic event. “Lin-J Shell used to make heroic plays on the field, last Wednesday he came up with the most heroic moment of his life,” the tweet read.

This Jacksonville school district has already had nine gun incidents this year, which have led to seven arrests.